June 26, 2012 9:22pm EDTJune 26, 2012 3:16pm EDTThe Rockets have us guessing as to their plan with three first-round picks, including whether or not it involves Dwight Howard. We're looking at that dilemma and more as Thursday's NBA Draft approaches.

Their desire to trade for Dwight Howard, even with no assurance that he will sign an extension to stay in Houston beyond this season, is known. But there are indications from Orlando, a source told Sporting News, that new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan intends to be patient with the Howard situation. Hennigan was hired by the Magic last week.

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The Rockets could package all three picks into a deal for another player, or put two picks together and move up. One scenario has Houston trading the 14th and 16th picks to Golden State for the No. 7 pick, and targeting Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague with the 18th pick. That would free up the Rockets to re-sign free-agent point guard Goran Dragic, with Teague as a backup, and package Kyle Lowry and the No. 7 pick in a trade.

ESPN.com reported that, should the Magic not be willing to part with Howard, the Rockets could target Atlanta’s Josh Smith, who has requested a trade from the Hawks. But, like Orlando, Atlanta has a new general manager—former Cavs and Spurs exec Danny Ferry—who won’t be in a hurry to deal his biggest trading chip. Another report has the Rockets offering Lowry plus the Nos. 14 and 18 picks to the Kings for guard Tyreke Evans and the No. 5 pick, but a source shot that down as unrealistic.

Either way, there is little chance for the Rockets to come out of the draft with three first-round rookies. Even if they do, some combination of those players can be expected to be traded before the season starts.

Big on Barton?

Before NBA teams began workouts in preparation for this year’s draft, Brian Elfus, the agent for sophomore Memphis guard Will Barton, sent general managers a PDF with visual evidence of his player’s value.

The first slide shows Barton’s scoring in relation to other top wings in the draft—he averaged 18.8 points, more than Jeremy Lamb, Harrison Barnes, Terrence Ross, Jeff Taylor, Bradley Beal and so on. The second slide shows that Barton averaged 8.0 rebounds, more than Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Beal, Ross, etc. Throw in assists (2.9), steals (1.4), field-goal percentage (50.9)—Barton led other top wing men in those categories, too.

Despite all that, Barton seemed destined for the second round. What’s moved him up to a likely first-rounder has been his performance in interviews and the backing of Memphis coach Josh Pastner. Going back to his freshman year, scouts had developed an opinion that Barton had attitude problems, but over time, that opinion has shifted to Barton merely being confident and competitive.

“As a competitor, how else are you supposed to feel?” Barton said after a workout with Golden State. “You’re supposed to feel like you’re the best. If you look at the stats, I was one of the top guys in the country regardless of position or school or any of that. I don’t complain about it.”

Barton has had 14 workouts for teams in the second part of the first round and has established a likely range of anywhere from Dallas at No. 17 to Chicago at No. 28, with Boston (Nos. 20 and 21), Atlanta (No. 23) and Indiana (No. 26) having keen interest.

As for the attitude question, Barton has heard it repeatedly.

“It was brought up several times,” Elfus said. “He addressed it head-on. Josh Pastner addressed it. As teams did their research, it turned into something that was not an issue.”

Hornets choice at No. 10

New Orleans could have the most interesting decision in the first round when it selects Anthony Davis’ fellow rookie at No. 10.

The Hornets would like to see Damian Lillard drop to them, but that looks increasingly like a longshot, with both Portland (No. 6) and Toronto (No. 8) in the mix for the point guard from Weber State.

Beyond Lillard, the Hornets would choose between two centers (Tyler Zeller and Meyers Leonard) and two wings (Austin Rivers and Jeremy Lamb). The team is high on Rivers, but the notion of pairing two young shot-blockers like Davis and Zeller is gaining steam.